UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday urged both Iran and Israel to exercise “maximum restraint” to prevent deeper conflict. The statement comes amid a sudden escalation between the two states following Israel’s attacks on various nuclear installations in Iran.

Condemning the Israeli strikes, the statement from the secretary-general’s office expressed concerns about a wider conflagration throughout the Middle East, warning that “a descent into deeper conflict” would be “a situation that the region can hardly afford.”

Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also issued a statement expressing concerns over the development, stating:

[N]uclear facilities must never be attacked, regardless of the context or circumstances, as it could harm both people and the environment. Such attacks have serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security.

Grossi further confirmed that the Natanz nuclear site had been impacted, with the Esfahan and Fordow sites currently remaining unimpacted. He emphasized that “any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes” is a violation of the UN Charter, and the Statue of the IAEA, as stipulated in the agency’s previous resolutions, namely GC(XXIX)/RES/444 and GC(XXXIV)/RES/533.

Iran ratified the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) in 1970 as one of the original signatories, and also concluded a Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, which entered into force in 1974. Since Iran’s disclosure of its nuclear program in 2002, it has been repeatedly found in breach of international safeguards agreements. The nuclear program is also at issue in diplomatic tension between the US and Iran. With the Israeli strikes, Iran has withdrawn from the next round of nuclear talks scheduled for Oman.

In an official statement released shortly after Israel launched its assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) justified the attack as a “preemptive strike,” citing that Iran’s nuclear program has “reached the point of no return.”

Israel’s assertion follows a resolution adopted by the IAEA’s Board of Governors on Friday, which found that Iran had failed to meet its NPT obligations by conducting secret activities involving undeclared nuclear material at three locations. The board urged Iran to immediately remedy non-compliance with its Safeguards Agreement by taking all necessary measures and engaging in constructive diplomatic dialogue with the US to address international concerns related to Iran’s nuclear activities.